On the modeling of carotid artery blood flow from magnetic resonance images

摘要

Realistic modeling of hemodynamics in the carotid artery bifurcation is useful to study basic science questions [1,2], to enhance current image-based diagnostic procedures [3] and to plan and evaluate surgical and interventional procedures [4]. Anatomical and physiologic data can be obtained non-invasively on an individual basis from medical images such as magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). Flow measurements in the human carotid artery indicate that instantaneous flows in the common carotid artery (CCA), the internal carotid artery (ICA) and the external carotid artery (ECA) do not add up to zero. Figure 1 shows the anatomical and flow MRA data for a normal human subject.